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19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

First let's understand what has been happening in the very busy life of Jesus. Of course he's busy. He has a very short three years to proclaim his new kingdom and establish the New Law, his Church of mercy, kindness, love and forgiveness to all creatures.

Herod has beheaded John the Baptist. Jesus hears of this and wants to go to a quiet deserted place, alone and grieve for his cousin. So by boat on the Sea of Galilee he goes off to be alone. But crowds form. People know of his healing and his compassion. They follow him on foot. They find Jesus and waiting for him along the shore. Jesus is immediately struck with compassion, seeing so many, begging for his healing. They need him. And he has pity for them and responds. He postpones his private grieving for John. His apostles come to him, asking him to dismiss the people before nightfall so they can go into the towns and find food. Jesus has a different idea. By his miracle with five loaves of bread and two fish, he feeds five thousand men, not counting the women and children, as the gospel says.

Finally after taking care of sick, the hungry, the lost, he now has his chance to be alone and grieve and pray for John. He dismisses the crowds and MAKES his disciples get into the boat and sail and row to the other side of the lake, toward the eastern shore, which we learn from Chapter 8 of this gospel, that it's the gentile side.

To appreciate our gospel reading today, let's understand a bit of the natural dynamics of the Sea of Galilee. It's actually a fresh water lake, about 15 miles long and 8 miles wide, and has an average depth of about 25 feet, not terribly deep. And it's 680 feet below sea level. It takes up about 64 square miles. Compare these square miles to Corpus Christi Bay which takes up about 192 square miles. Our bay is much bigger.

The eastern side of Galilee is somewhat mountainous or at least pretty hilly. And this sometimes causes fairly cool strong winds to swoop down from the hills and blow over the lake and because of its shallowness, can cause some significant stormy winds and large waves. Plus the air from the Mediterranean is warm and moist. The cooler air drops, the warmer rises and then we have a collision of opposite airs, resulting in stormy seas. Especially so in the night when winds from west to east from the Mediterranean die down to a breeze leaving the mountain winds blow hard from the east to take over.

Maybe the apostles didn't want to leave Jesus alone, or they didn't want to go east because that was gentile land or maybe they knew about how bumpy the sea can be in the evening hours, but still not a long sail or row, less than eight miles. Whatever reason Jesus makes them go on head. He’s going to be alone and finally cry and pray for John the Baptist.

So at first watch they start off for the eastern shore. At the second watch, they still are rowing. But they can do it. No big deal. They’ve probably lowered the sail and its all arm power now. But the winds are picking up. It really getting rough. It's now third watch. Our translation says, “Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves.” The original Greek for “tossed about” uses the verb “Basanizo,” meaning “tormented.” The waves are large, one after another. In the apostles’ mind, they must be thinking, boy, its really getting hard. Anxiety is starting to grow. But they keep on.

Let’s understand the Roman style of time keeping that the Jewish people also adopted. First watch: 6pm to 9pm. Setting sun to deep twilight. Second watch, 9pm to midnight. Third watch midnight to three am. Fourth watch: the deep of the night, darkness at the most, but the light of sunrise isn’t far off, from 3am to 6am.

By the beginning of the fourth watch the apostles are in trouble. They are exhausted. They are in the middle of the lake. What was a row of less than eight miles has become a battle between life and death and the apostles are freaked out. Out of the total darkness, waves are thrashing against their boat. They probably prayed all night for relief from the storm, but still the winds and waves attack. There is no let up. They are exhausted. All seems lost.

And now, during the fourth watch, while the apostles must be feeling that all is against them and no answer is coming to their prayers, then in total darkness, Jesus comes walking on the waters. The men in the boat are in total panic. A ghost they say. All looks bad and hopeless and now a ghost comes to haunt and destroy them.

But Jesus, as we read today, “AT ONCE, spoke to them. Take courage. It is I; DO NOT BE AFRAID.” And Peter never shy for words and maybe he had the most fear of them all on the boat, challenges and says, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus says come and Peter obeys and walks on the water to Jesus. But even Jesus’ person, his physical human person standing on the water before Peter, is not enough and is overcome by fear of the whipping winds, the crashing waves. All are too much for Peter and he doubts and begins to sink into the dark waters, and begs Jesus to save him.

In a timeless gesture, Jesus, made of human, bone, flesh and skin, grabs Peter by the hand and lifts him up out of the water and both step into the boat and the seas become calm. What a beautiful scene of Jesus reaching out to clutch Peter, to clutch us, our hearts, and he pulls Peter to himself. Jesus wants us to reach for him, because he reaches for us and moreover, brings us to himself. How Peter must have hugged the Lord, how he must have heard and felt his beating Sacred Heart, as Jesus takes Peter to his breast.

How often are we in near despair due to our storms and seemingly hopeless predicaments?How often are we in our fourth watch when all is dark and tremendously fearful?

We see many fourth watches in the Bible: the woman bleeding for years, stretching to touch Jesus’ hem of his garment; the thief on the cross who yearns for Jesus; Jarius whose daughter lies near death; you and me, hearing words that your loved one is terribly sick, getting the knock at the door with message of a loved in an accident, a loved one dying; you me because you’ve lost your job, or gotten an eviction notice; you and me because the lights go out because money has run out to pay the bill; you and me because of marriage about to crash.

We all face our fourth watches. But Jesus says, do not be afraid and take courage. I AM HERE. The I AM OF WHO AM before Moses, is now before you. And who comes in the terror of our fourth watch: Jesus the savior of the fourth watch.

It is faith that saves us. Don't ask for signs. Don't ask for proofs. Ask for faith. Our challenge as Christians is to believe in the loving, merciful, compassionate presence of God, when it is least discernible. Our Lord says to us to go against the odds, to face our struggles, as we are armed with the gentleness of faith that can destroy even the greatest of sins, the greatest of troubles.

It is our beautiful Christian faith that calms our storms, that calms even fears of death, because with faith in Jesus we know we will never die. We know that what awaits us is eternal life as Jesus holds out his hand to us, bringing us to himself, to live in glory as he does, forever.